Eric SorensonA near capacity crowd and the two teams on the field at Saguaro High School experienced a “remember when” night under the lights in Scottsdale.
It was an evening the Chaparral Firebirds would like to forget but Christian Kirk won’t let them.
“Remember when” the state’s top-rated player was uncatchable.
Unstoppable.
Untouchable.
The defending Division-III champions started fast and rolled to a 41-14 win beating their cross-town rivals for the first time since 2008.
“Coming into my senior year, I said I’m not losing to Chaparral,” Kirk said after the game. “It was definitely more than I expected. It was awesome.”
Awesome could be described for the one-man wrecking crew Kirk who set the tone early on Saguaro’s second offensive play taking a swing pass from junior Kare’ Lyles and sprinting 70 yards down the Chaparral sideline for a 6-0 lead less than a minute into the game. It would ultimately define the rest of the night: Chaparral unsuccessfully chasing #2 up and down the field.
“I pulled Christian aside and said, ‘hey I don’t know if anyone ever told you this before but you’re pretty good,'” Saguaro head coach Jason Mohns quipped after the game about his two-way star who also played well in the secondary at cornerback. “He’s just phenomenal. He’s unbelievable. He gets better every year. He’s a special player.”
Kirk would add a 79-yard touchdown run and have two more jaw-dropping scoring plays called back due to penalties.
With the exception of those untimely penalties, it was hard to find fault in much else Saguaro did dominating up front on both sides of the ball with their physicality and never allowing Chaparral senior quarterback Sean Paul Brophy to get comfortable in the pocket.
“We’re going to be a darn good defense this year,” Mohns said. “We’ve bought into it and they’ve committed to it. They want to be one of the best defenses in Saguaro history.”
If Friday was any indication, this “remember when” night could turn into another “remember when” season for the defending state champions.
